John Moe

John Moe is the host and creator of the award-winning hit podcast, The Hilarious World of Depression as well as an in-demand speaker around the country. The author of three books: Dear Luke, We Need To Talk, Darth; The Deleted Emails Of Hillary Clinton; and Conservatize Me, his writing has appeared in numerous humor anthologies as well as The New York Times Magazine, McSweeney’s, The Seattle Times, and many more publications. He has hosted nationally distributed public radio programs such as Wits, Weekend America, and Marketplace Tech Report and his radio work has been featured on Marketplace, All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He lives in St Paul.

SPEECH TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS

How I Discovered How Hilarious Depression Truly Is

John Moe, host and creator of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, explores society’s reluctance to discuss mental illness and what needs to be done about it by tracing his own experiences with depression. That story is sometimes deeply funny, sometimes harrowing, and, more often than you’d think, both at the same time. Moe’s story is open, honest, and hopeful, as it blends in the thoughts of the numerous celebrities he’s interviewed to arrive at a positive and hopeful place. This talk also offers several simple things anyone can do to fight stigma and make the world a healthier place.

What I’ve Learned By Being Professionally Depressed

There are millions of people with depression out there but very few have managed to turn pro. John Moe offers the lessons he’s gatheredfrom creating and hosting the critically acclaimed hit podcast The Hilarious World of Depression. The lessons are pretty simple (“We’re Dumb About Terminology”, “The Magical Cure Potion Will Never Show Up”) and Moe illustrates them with honesty and humor while demonstrating that these lessons are things we can all keep in mind as we try to lift the stigma surrounding mental illness. By the end of the speech, which features interview snippets from the various comedians Moe has interviewed, audiences will have had a good laugh and learned a lot.